In a positive move for the South African fintech landscape, Spot Money has launched the country’s first Open Banking offering.
The move follows the 2020 acquisition of the Virgin Money South Africa business by a leading South African private equity firm, in partnership with the local executive management team.
Central to the rebrand of the company is the launch of the latest version of the Spot app.
Andre Hugo, who continues at the helm of the Spot Money business as CEO, said the app was a significantly revised offering that would introduce Spot’s entry into Open Banking and heralds the beginning of a fundamentally different business strategy as the company drives fintech forward in South Africa.
“There is more to the future of financial services than making current products and services digital. Spot Money will introduce South Africans to a true Open Banking marketplace,” said Hugo.
“As a fintech, our aim is to service the full spectrum of a consumer’s financial needs in a single customer-centric platform, giving them the choice to transact seamlessly and review tailor-made financial offers based on their unique needs.”
Hugo said an Open Banking marketplace would bring a new dimension to enabling consumers to manage and control their money.
“An Open Banking marketplace gives consumers more choice when it comes to managing their money. It’s a marketplace where highly personalised financial services such as loans and insurance are coupled with lifestyle services, rewards, and a wide range of value-added services,” he said.
While Spot is bank neutral and will partner with a range of financial services providers, it is anchored by the banking industry and functions in association with Bidvest Bank.
The new Spot app has been developed using Mastercard’s technology, allowing Spot to issue physical and virtual Mastercard prepaid debit cards. Users can then transact at any retail location that accepts Mastercard.
The Spot app provides an intuitive mobile transactional account with no monthly account fees. The app will also enable direct contactless mobile phone payments, aligned with the world’s growing adoption of contactless transactions. Customers will be able to order, within the app, a physical Spot prepaid debit card which is tap-to-pay enabled for contactless payments.
Spot also features Mastercard’s Scan to Pay functionality, which enables users to scan any Masterpass-enabled QR code in South Africa for the purchasing of goods and services. Spot is the only app that gives customers the ability to Scan to Pay all of the major QR code payment types – Masterpass, SnapScan, wiCode and Zapper.
“We are committed to leveraging our innovative product and platform suite to accelerate the fintech space in South Africa. Our strategy across the MEA region has been to drive innovation through partnerships and we are excited to partner with Spot on the first Open Banking powered offering that provides a superior customer experience with safety and security at its core.
“As a technology partner of choice, Mastercard continues to develop market-leading solutions to drive digital transformation,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President for Market Development MEA at Mastercard.
Mark Elliott, Division President of Mastercard, Southern Africa adds, “We are very excited to partner with Spot Money in a move that will further accelerate innovation in South Africa, and give consumers more choice in how they pay and manage their money.”
The Spot Money management team will continue to steer the fintech as a leading local innovator. “The way in which traditional banks and financial technology companies interact with one another is changing dramatically as Open Banking becomes the norm. We are poised to develop Spot Money as a major part of this evolution in South Africa,” said Hugo.
Spot Money’s app is now live on all major app stores: Apple, Huawei and Google Play Store.
